Before the Sun
by SkyChasingDreamer
Summary: Gintoki wakes up before Hijikata's alarm and spends some time enjoying it. A bit of fluff for the new year.


**Title: **Before the Sun**  
Pairing: **GinHijiGin**  
Rating: **T**  
Disclaimer: **No

**Before the Sun**

Gintoki was having a pretty good sleep when something woke him, he really wasn't sure what. He just swam out of an empty, cozy darkness and found himself curled up in bed with a warmth against his right hand. It took him a few minutes to come to, blinking away the sleep and inherent drowsiness that came with slumber. He didn't feel quite as stiff as usual, his muscles were too lax – a phenomena that hadn't happened in far too long.

Coming to a little more, his fingers twitched and he was unsurprised to find his hand reached out to touch Hijikata. That would have surprised him once, he would have snatched his hand away and probably left just to put some distance between them, but no longer. Somewhere along the way it had become habit for him to just randomly touch Hijikata in some way. It was little by little, simple brushes, playful pushes, then he was touching just to touch because he'd gotten used to Hijikata allowing him to do so. Hijikata never said anything about it and the thing was that he reciprocated in his own way, so it was both of them that had gradually gotten used to something they shouldn't have.

His fingers brushed over smooth skin and since he was on his side, he tilted his head back to get a look at his Justaway clock and eureka! He rolled onto his back and smiled at the ceiling, idly bringing a hand up to try and wipe it away before he accidentally let a little gleeful laugh slip. It was an hour before Hijikata's alarm would be going off and this was one of his only favorite times in the morning. Everything was so quiet and sleepy and warm. The night owls were winding down and the working had yet to rouse, leaving this stillness in time where the world seemed to stop.

He could hear Hijikata breathing, the sound steady and familiar. Gintoki must have squirmed away during the night or maybe it was Hijikata who had, but either way this wasn't how they'd fallen asleep. Not that it mattered, they always moved a lot in the night, especially Gintoki, but it was an easy fix, all he had to do was roll onto his side and scoot a bit. And he'd do that... in a moment.

First though, he let his hand idly trail up Hijikata's bare back, pausing at the few scars he passed. His fingers slid down into the divot of Hijikata's spine and he followed that up between a set of strong shoulder blades. Hijikata kept sleeping, he could tell by the breathing, and Gintoki kind of liked that part of this time of the morning as well. It was like his own secret somehow, a guilty pleasure he'd indulge in time and time again whenever he found himself awake during this lull. He didn't feel so guilty for stealing these touches and moments in the darkness while Hijikata slept. He refrained a lot from doing so in the daytime, in the light, where the act could be seen.

He could almost swear Hijikata slept deeper during this hour, too, only because the other rarely responded to his touches. Well, sometimes Hijikata did, but mostly just in the twitch of a muscle or a small shift of position. No, Hijikata only woke up if Gintoki really tried to wake him up, which, honestly, he didn't do very often. Most of the time he liked to let Hijikata sleep while he just sort of touched and dozed. Lazy – it was extremely lazy, maybe that was why he liked it so much.

His fingers brushed the nape of Hijikata's neck, the tips disappearing in the soft hairs there. It was dark in the room, but his eyes had long since adjusted, so he could see what he was doing for the most part. Not that he really needed to see, he preferred to feel. It was pretty obvious he liked to touch – for some reason – and for whatever reason, Hijikata allowed it. The bastard never said anything about it, never asked about it or questioned it, and in many ways Gintoki was glad for that because he wasn't so sure he'd know how to answer if Hijikata did say something. It also wasn't something he wanted to spend time thinking about since he didn't know what he might uncover if he did. There were a lot of dark places within himself

Skating the palm of his hand to the right over Hijikata's shoulder, he felt out that little bump at the top and lingered there to run his thumb over it a few times. Hijikata's shoulders were less broad than his own and he could almost feel that just by touching. It wasn't an issue of muscle, definitely not, it was entirely more based on structure. And he could safely say he liked the way he and Hijikata fit together, him being just that much bigger and broader in all the right places, though they were the same height. And he liked that, too, being eye to eye with someone whether they got along or fought. That was probably a stupid thing to like, but he _was_ rather stupid.

His arm was starting to burn a little from holding it up for so long, so he decided it was time to roll onto his side and scoot closer to Hijikata. He didn't press his chest to the other's back, he only got close enough to feel Hijikata's heat radiating just shy of his skin. They were wrapped up in his comforter – of course they were – so he was already warm, but he was pretty certain that no warm was too warm for his lover. If their showers were anything to go by, anyway.

He didn't drape his arm around Hijikata or anything, he just let it rest hugged to his chest between their bodies, the backs of his fingers lightly touching Hijikata's back. Gintoki was content like this, in the silence, a hollow wind softly rattling the window, the birds not yet chirping. He was sure only the stars were out, but they didn't make any noise, they just watched over so long as there were no clouds to block their vision.

He was looking at the back of Hijikata's neck and it was a _really_ nice neck. Hijikata had that slender quality that Gintoki himself somewhat lacked being as bulky as he was. Though, slender was a rather misleading word because it wasn't like slender in a way a woman was slender, Hijikata didn't have _curves_. This was a different kind of slender, a Hijikata slender defined by slopes of muscle, planes of sinew, and ridges of bone.

Gintoki wasn't the smartest man out there, some days he was so hungover he was barely literate, but he knew what he liked and he liked _this_. Just sort of laying, not having to think or do anything, just lay while Hijikata slept. That... probably sounded creepy, but he was the king of sexual harassment, creep was a compliment. And it wasn't like he was doing anything perverted and even if he was, he'd do it anyway because that was sort of what he did.

His fingers were barely moving against Hijikata's back, following one of the slopes that led to the divot in the spine back and forth. His eyes were open in slits and though he was comfortable just as he was, after staring at the back of the other's neck for awhile, he couldn't help but lean forward and press a chaste kiss to the knob of Hijikata's spine. The touch of his lips lingered a couple seconds before he pulled back and rested his forehead to that same spot.

Each breath he took was heavy with Hijikata's scent, something that lulled him into a sense of comfort. His eyes slipped shut and Hijikata's skin was so warm in the small number of places they were touching. Gintoki was tempted to wrap his arm around the bastard, but just having the backs of his fingers ghosting the other's spine was good enough. Hijikata's musk always seemed stronger at this time in the morning, this special time. Maybe it was because Hijikata had been in the same place for several hours, but it was heady and _always_ lingered for, sometimes, days after Hijikata left.

Gintoki would never admit to it, but he'd refrained from washing his futon on occasions when he knew Hijikata wouldn't be back for awhile. The scent had become something soothing for him, as familiar as grabbing a strawberry milk from the fridge or watching Ketsuno Ana deliver the weather. He wasn't attached to the scent though, that was ridiculous. It was dangerous to get attached to things and... no, he actually wasn't going to get into that. His mind could wander, just not in that direction.

This hour was for simple things, the simplest, the ones that made him happy for nothing other than their simplicity. The subtle rise and fall of Hijikata's breaths, the _sound_ of having someone in his bed, the heat of another body, the feel of skin to skin – just a few of the things he enjoyed basking in and absorbing while he alone was awake with his thoughts. There was another element, too, one that was probably silly and stupid, but it was how he felt and he couldn't help that.

With only him being awake and Hijikata asleep, he felt perhaps overly protective of his lover. Hijikata was strong and could take care of himself, Gintoki _knew_ that and knew it well, but there was a vulnerability that came with sleep, one that applied to everyone. So while Hijikata slept, he wanted to pulled the bastard to him and keep watch, not let go, _provide_ a safety to lean on. It was just within him to want to do things like that, keep Hijikata _safe_, give things he himself had never really had.

And there he went again, getting into that area of gray that was better left on its own. His lips twitched in a dry amusement before he nuzzled his forehead to Hijikata's back and resettled himself. His limbs felt heavy, a sleepy haze still lingering in his head. He could do things, he knew, like push Hijikata's buttons and arouse him enough for some morning nookie and maybe he'd do that... next time. This time was just going to be for relaxing, he wasn't a _complete _sex fiend, only mostly so. He could take a break sometimes, keep his libido calm and under control, and the thing was, he actually _wanted _to do it because even laying with Hijikata was enough to satisfy him.

Gintoki was happy and it was every level of terrifying to dare admit that to himself. But the very real fact remained that Hijikata made him happy, it wasn't exactly difficult to figure that out, petrifying as that admission, even to himself, could be. So, during this time when the city had yet to come to life for a new day, he would continue to stay awake, continue to secretly guard what was important to him, and continue to be wholly satisfied doing so. Later, when Hijikata woke and left, Gintoki would fall asleep to a lingering musky scent and through that, he'd be content. He wasn't used to being watched over, he was used to doing the watching and that was okay, it was what he was familiar with, anything else would probably weird him out.

Taking a deep breath, he let the warm and smell clear his head and his body relaxed into the futon. A gust of wind made the window rattle some more, but Hijikata's breathing remained even and steady – somewhere in the time since Gintoki woken up he'd synchronized their breathing. He could feel Hijikata's rhythmic heartbeat and he could listen to it for hours, he really could. But that wasn't something he'd get into at the moment, he was just going to enjoy the rest of his time in a watchful reprieve before Hijikata's alarm went off.

Because Hijikata was safe with him and he was proud of that, he'd protect that until the last breath left his body.


End file.
